Quick Facts
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Biography
Melissa Villaseñor (born October 9, 1987) is a Hispanic-American actress and comedian. On September 12, 2016, she was announced as a cast member for the forty-second season of Saturday Night Live.
Life and career
Originally from Whittier, California, Villaseñor has performed in two one-woman shows in Hollywood. She has also done voice work for the animated shows Adventure Time, Family Guy and TripTank, as well as being a semifinalist in season 6 of America's Got Talent and appearing on an episode of First Impressions. She is a member of Broadway Video's digital studio Más Mejor, which spotlights Latino comedians.
Celebrity impressions
Villaseñor describes herself as a comedian and impressionist. She performed various impressions for America's Got Talent, as well as on First Impressions and her YouTube channel, including:
- Barbara Walters
- Natalie Portman
- Owen Wilson
- Jennifer Lopez
- Kristen Wiig
- Hillary Clinton
- Gwen Stefani
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Whitney Cummings
- Sia
- Zooey Deschanel
- Kate Micucci
Her impressions on SNL include:
- Sarah Silverman
- Winona Ryder (as her character Joyce Byers from Stranger Things)
- Elaine Quijano
- Sue Perkins
Saturday Night Live
Villaseñor was introduced as a featured player on the October 1, 2016, episode of SNL alongside Mikey Day and Alex Moffat. Her debut was an impression of Sarah Silverman in the "Family Feud: Celebrity Edition" sketch.
Controversy
In September 2016, Villaseñor deleted over 2,000 tweets from her Twitter account after being announced as a Saturday Night Live cast member. Subsequently, some of them were perceived by some to contain racist content, including tweets that targeted black people and Asians as well as Villaseñor's being afraid to date black men. In one tweet she mentions an "ugly," "bossy black lady" at her job.